Nutrient rich biologically active soils and horiculutre media with predetermined characteristics and method for making

ABSTRACT

A process is disclosed for creating biologically active soil or horticulture media for growing plants, wherein a fibrous carbon source such as coconut coir in a predetermined particulate form is mixed with fertilizers and other biological nutrients, inoculated with a biologically active substance such as worm castings and then aged or cured in an oxygen rich aerobic process. After which additional nutrients can be added to tailor the aged media for a specific use. Various apparatus with which to conduct the aging process are also described. In a variation of the process used soil or horticulture media is recharged by first composting at a high temperature to remove harmful and unwanted items, its contents are evaluated, nutrients are added, and it is then aged in an aerobic process.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under relevant US law ofU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/317,595 for “Method forCreating Nutrient Rich Biologically Active Soils and Horticulture Mediawith Predetermined Characteristics” filed on Apr. 3, 2016, ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/322,586 for “Method for Creating Nutrient RichBiologically Active Soils and Horticulture Media with PredeterminedCharacteristics” filed on Apr. 14, 2016, U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/477,550 for “Method for Creating Nutrient Rich BiologicallyActive Soils and Horticulture Media with Predetermined Characteristics”filed Apr. 3, 2017, the content of all the listed applications which isrelied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method to createbiologically active nutrient dense horticultural media withpredetermined nutrient compositions and nutrient and water supplycharacteristics. More particularly it explains how to combine varioussubstances and also process them to create the desired soil orhorticulture media characteristics.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

A key aspect of growing plants and achieving desired growingcharacteristics and features of the plant is the characteristics of thesoil it is grown in and the nutrients, water and biological environmentthat the growing plant experiences. Many plants are grown in artificialsoils and horticultural practices involve cultivation in soilless media.Such media are referred to with terms such as “horticultural media”,“potting soil”, compost, soil or soilless media. Media may be derivedfrom organic materials such as peat, coconut coir, wood products,compost, manures and inorganic materials such as sand, perlite, andvermiculite.

There have been many attempts to enhance and improve horticultural mediato maximize growth and crop production characteristics. This can includeadding, wetting agents, fertilizer nutrients, lime, gypsum, otherchemicals, and biological inoculants.

Additionally, where a plant is grown to maturity in horticultural media(e.g. tomatoes, cannabis, strawberries, etc.) the costs of disposal ofthe used horticultural media can be significant. There is considerableinterest in the potential to re-use horticulture media, but there aresignificant challenges and risks associated with re-use. There may becarryover of pests and diseases from one crop to the next and nutrientsmay become depleted or imbalanced affecting plant growth.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods, devices and systems to createbiologically active, nutrient dense horticultural media withpre-determined nutrient release of water supply characteristics andmicrobial populations.

One aspect of the invention involves using containers with air permeablesurfaces to facilitate the flow of oxygen into the soil media duringbiological activation of horticultural medium. The oxygen supply can beactively augmented by using a system to actively inject oxygen into thehorticultural medium or to mix the materials to expose surfaces andbiological populations to oxygen.

The containers may be processed either as batches or as a continuousflow system.

Another aspect of the invention involves the use of diverse microbialpopulations stabilized as a living culture to activate the horticulturalor soil media.

Another aspect involves the addition of materials to the horticulture orsail media that influence viability of microbial populations duringperiods of water stress.

Another aspect of the invention includes blending organic and inorganicnutrient sources in specific ratios into the horticultural or soil mediato achieve desired nutrient supply characteristics. Other aspects of theinvention involve the introduction of activated charcoal or biochar toinfluence the availability of nutrients.

Another aspect of the invention involves the introduction of activatedcharcoal or biochar to influence microbial activity and populations.

Another aspect of the invention involves manipulating the composition ofthe horticultural medium so as to affect the porosity of the medium andthe water availability.

To achieve objectives of the invention it includes a method for creatingbiologically active nutrient dense plant growth media consisting of thesteps of: a) forming a mixable base media with a specified porosity; b)mixing into the base media nutrients; c) activating the base media andnutrients by introducing biological inoculants to form an active media;d) aging the active media in an oxygen rich environment to therebymaintain biological aerobic activity; and e) blending in additionalingredients after the aging process is completed to thereby create aplant growth media tailored to desired nutrient and water supplycharacteristics.

In a further aspect it includes forming the mixable base media compriseshydrating coir of at least one particle size to create a loose mixablebase. In another aspect of the invention step of forming the basefurther comprises varying a particle size of the mixable base media fromless than 0.05 mm to more than 12.5 mm. In a further aspect of theinvention the step of forming the mixable base media includes selectingand mixing one or more materials from a group consisting of coconutcoir, sphagnum moss, pine bark, rice hulls, wood chips, sawdust,molasses, corn stover, wheat straw, barley straw, spent brewers grains,perilite, and, sand. In yet another aspect of the invention the step ofmixing into the base media nutrients comprises introducing nitrogen,phosphorous, and potassium in a predetermined ratio to each other.

In yet a another aspect of the invention the step of mixing in nutrientsincludes mixing in one or more of substances taken from a groupconsisting of animal and plant derive protein meals, mineral traceelements, azomite, greensand, soluble humic and fulvic acids, poultrylitter, diatomaceous earth, epsom salt (Mg SO4), gypsum (CaSO₄),humates, peanut meal, phosphate rock, soft rock phosphate, sodiumnitrate, sulphate of potash, alfalfa meal, peanut meal, cottonseed meal,rye grass, neem meal, corn forage, green manures, clover, buckwheat,vetch, mustard, oil seed rape, kelp meal, feather meal, fishhydrolysate, blood meal, bone meal, bat and seabird guanos, langbenite,calcitic lime, dolomitic lime, ferrous sulfate, aluminum sulphate, andsulphur.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the step of aging the activemedia in an oxygen rich environment using a passive method of aeration.In a further aspect the step of using a passive method of aerationcomprises a step of aging the active media in air permeable containers.In a further aspect of the step of aging the active media in airpermeable containers involves use of air permeable containers made ofair permeable fabric that is open at the top. In yet a further aspect ofthe invention, the step of aging the active media in an oxygen richenvironment involves the step of relying on passive aeration when thetemperature during the aging step remains in a range of between 70 to130 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of 3 or more days before returningto ambient temperature.

In another aspect of the invention the step of aging in an oxygen richenvironment involves the step of actively aerating the active media. Inyet a further aspect of the invention the step of aging the active mediain an oxygen rich environment involves the step of actively aeratingwhen the temperature of the active media is 130 to 180 degreesFahrenheit for a period of 3 days or more. In yet another aspect of theinvention the step of actively aerating uses a step selected from thegroup including the killowing: inserting air conduits into the base andblowing air into the active media, turning of the active media using anauger within a vessel, turning the active media in windrows using acommercial windrow machine, turning of the active media in piles usingequipment such as a front end loader, and turning the active media usinga rotary composter.

In another aspect of the invention the step of introducing an inoculantis selected from a group including one or more of the following toactivate the system: Introducing worm castings, introducing apredetermined amount of base previously made with this method, orintroducing a predetermined amount of soil or introducing a consortia ofbiology including, bacteria, fungal populations and beneficialorganisms.

In another aspect of the invention it includes a step of monitoring theoxygen content of the aging active media and injecting additional oxygenif the level monitored falls below a threshold necessary to maintain anaerobic aging process.

In yet another aspect of the invention the step of forming a base mediawith a specified porosity includes forming a base media with acombination of water porosity and air porosity. In yet another aspectthe step of forming a base media with combination of water porosity andair porosity can include selecting it from a group consisting of a) 16%air porosity and 68% water porosity for a total of 84% porosity, b) 16%air porosity and 63% water porosity for a total of 79% porosity, and c)31% air porosity and 58% water porosity for a total of 89% porosity. Ina further aspect of this step water porosity can vary from 10% to 50%and air porosity can vary from 10% to 50% and total porosity can varyfrom 10% to 90% depending on the combination of air and water porosity.

In yet another aspect of the invention it includes a step of addingbiochar as an ingredient.

The present invention also includes method for recharging used growthmedia for plant propagation includes the steps of: a) assessing thecomposition of used growth media for preselected physical, chemical andbiological characteristics; b) composting the used growth media toobtain a temperature of at least 140° or more for a period of days tosterilize the growth media; c) adding base media as needed or desired;e) blending preselected nutrients into the growth media; f) activatingthe growth media by introducing at least one biological inoculant; g)aging the activated growth media in an oxygen rich environment to assurea purely aerobic aging process; and h) blending into the growth mediaadditional nutrients and ingredients to thereby create a plant growthmedia tailored with desired nutrient and water supply characteristics.In yet another aspect of the invention the growth media being rechargedis selected from a group consisting of horticulture media and soilmedia.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiment(s), andtogether with the description serve to explain principles and operationof the various embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart that provides an overview of the steps of onemethod of the present invention used to create the desired soil orhorticulture media;

FIG. 2 is perspective view of a bin based aging system that uses aporous bag held by a frame to age the horticulture media;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the aging bin depicted in FIG. 2 with anaeration conduit inserted into the horticulture media;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another system used to age thehorticulture media that uses an auger designed to move about a bin andthus agitate and thereby aerate the soil or horticulture media duringthe aging process;

FIG. 5 depicts the auger/bin based system of FIG. 4 with the bin filledwith horticulture media;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a second process for recharging used soil orhorticulture media for reuse as a growth medium;

FIG. 7 a rotary composter that might be used with the present invention;and

FIG. 8 a windrow system with a commercial windrow machine that wouldturn the active media to aerate it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Creation of Horticultural or Soil Media

a. Overview

The flow chart in FIG. 1 provides an overview of one process of thepresent invention. In the preferred embodiment in the initial step 21coconut coir of specified particle size or sizes is hydrated and/orprocessed to create a base media for the horticulture media. Althoughcoconut coir is the preferred base material other similar materials canbe used to from the base media. The next step 23 involves mixing intothe base various nutrients, such as fertilizer and other nutrients thatwill promote biological activity. In the next step 25 activation of thebase with nutrients to create the active media begins with introductionof biological inoculants, such as worm castings or microbial cultures,the inoculant starts to react with the nutrients in the media and theoxygen rich environment provided through either passive or active means.During the fourth step 27 the aging process starts and an oxygen richenvironment is maintained through either passive or active means topromote the aerobic aging or curing of the base. In the final step 29additional ingredients are added to the base to produce a finalhorticulture growth media that has the desired water retention, nutrientand nutrient release characteristics. The order of the steps of thisinvention can be varied as needed or desired. The order in FIG. 1 isthus not necessary to practice the invention and is only presented inthe order shown for the purpose of clearness and ease of discussing themethod of the invention. Although the terms soil media and horticulturemedia have slightly different meaning they have been usedinterchangeably herein since the methods as described herein can be usedto create both as a final product. At times they will be referred tocollectively as growth media or plant growth media herein.

b. Preparing the Base Media

As noted with respect to the first step 21 in FIG. 1 the preferredhorticulture base material is coconut coir. However, alternativematerials could include any material or combination of materials with anappropriate carbon content and air space. Such other alternativehorticulture base media include sphagnum moss, peat moss, pine bark,rice hulls, wood chips, corn stover, wheat straw, barley straw, spentbrewers grains, perlite, and sand. The last two perlite and sand wouldneed a carbon source. The coconut coir or other alternatives wouldnaturally be shredded, ground or pulverized to create a flowable drymedia of a specific particle size or sizes. As discussed in detail belowthe porosity of the particular base media used is significant for atleast one of the systems used during the aging process. Although thediscussion below uses coconut coir as the example any of the abovealternatives would be processed or prepared in a similar fashion.

Coir is a natural fiber obtained from the husks of coconuts, the fibrousmaterial located between the hard internal shell and the outer surfaceof the coconut. Coconut coir has a neural pH, has excellent waterholding capacity, air space and is disease resistant. The presentinvention uses coir which has been milled to varying sizes depending onthe application. Commercially available coir comes in compressed blocksin a powdered form where the coconut fibers have been ground down to aspecific particle size.

As will be discussed in detail below one of the innovative features ofthe process described herein is that it maintains the biological agingor curing step as a wholly aerobic process. Assuring a sufficient oxygensupply to the media during the aging process is of paramount importance.One of the factors that can effect providing sufficient oxygen supply isthe porosity of the media. Porosity of the horticulture growth media isalso of concern with respect to the use it will be put to by the end usecustomer. Thus, at the beginning the porosity selected for the mediawill be driven by the needs of the aging or curing process, but uponcompletion will be adjusted for the needs of the customer that will beusing the horticulture growth media.

The coir used is ground down into a specific particle size and thencompressed into a dry block. Blocks of coir come dry compressed blockswith particle sizes that range from greater than 12.5 mm to less than0.5 mm. The processing step commences with the selection of coir of oneor more particle sizes. The coir can be processed either in a dry or wetstate. Processing the dry compressed coir blocks in a dry state involvesbreaking apart the compressed blocks by mechanical means. An alternativeis to hydrate the coir blocks as part of the processing. This may bedone either by a static or dynamic means, an example of a static methodis laying the blocks on a flat surface and then spraying water on themto hydrate them. As the blocks absorb water they break down. Once theyhave absorbed sufficient water to reach the desired state of hydrationthey can be easily broken up into their individual particle size. Analternative dynamic method of processing involves breaking the blocks upin a large mixer such as a horizontal forage mixer or cement mixer andadding water to achieve the desired level of hydration to create a drybulk flowable mixture that is easy to work with and facilitates themixing in of additional ingredients as desired and needed.

As noted previously, porosity of the horticulture media is also ofconcern with respect to the process of the invention described herein aswell as the needs of the end consumer of the product. The porosity ofthe base media has two aspects water porosity and air porosity. Thefollowing table sets forth examples of porosity used in batches of basemedia made for the process of this invention:

Soil Air Porosity Water Porosity Total Porosity Porosity 1 16% 68% 84%Porosity 2 21% 63% 84% Porosity 3 31% 58% 89%These are only examples and depending on the application and method ofaeration and aging of the horticulture media used to achieve the finalproduct, the water and air porosity can be significantly varied and theinvention still practiced. A significant point to keep in mind is thatvarying the size or sizes of the particles of coir affects the waterretention characteristics of the horticulture media being created aswell as its air flow characteristics.

c. Adding Nutrients

The next step 23, FIG. 1, involves blending into the base media formedin step 21 various nutrients. The nutrients can vary significantly giventhe desired use of the horticulture or soil media being created.Typically, it would start with a base of fertilizer consisting ofnitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK). The formula for thecombination for these three ingredients is given as ratio such as 4-2-3,0-11-7, 2-4-4. etc. The numbers as is common knowledge in the industryindicate the proportionate amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumin the fertilizer. The possible sources of nutrients in organic orinorganic forms and combinations of amounts of each of the ingredientsin the NPK can vary greatly depending on the intended use of thehorticulture media. The possible variations are too numerous to recite,but the uses of the possible different variations would beunderstandable to those skilled in the art.

In addition to the use of one or more of the NPK ingredients, thoseskilled in the art know of a plethora of additional secondary ortertiary micronutrients that can be added, again depending on theintended use of the final horticulture or soil media to be produced.Secondary micronutrients that might be added include: calcium (Ca),magnesium (Mg), and sulphur (S). Additional micronutrients that could beadded include: copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo),zinc (Zn), boron (B), and of possible use here are silicon (Si), cobalt(Co), and vanadium (V plus rare mineral catalysts. In addition to theforegoing elements the following substances are often used as biologicalnutrients in soil or horticulture growth media: diatomaceous earth,feather meal, gypsum, humate, poultry litter, peanut meal, phosphaterock, and sulfate of potash. The list of possible additional nutrientsthat can also include: Azomite, bone meal, Soluble Humic and Fulvicacids, Poultry litter, Diatomaceous earth, epsom salt (Mg SO4), gypsum(CaSO₄), humates, peanut meal, phosphate rock, soluble Sulphate ofPotash, alfalfa meal, peanut meal, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, feathermeal and dolomitic lime.

Carbon sources may also be added in addition to that already in the basemedia. Such carbon sources can include but are not limited to thefollowing: rice hulls, wood chips (various species of trees, brush andshrubs can provide the source), sawdust, coconut coir, molasses, cornstover, wheat straw, barley straw, spent brewers grains, glycerol.

An additional ingredient that can be added is biochar. Biochar differsfrom most of the ingredients listed above. Biochar is a solid generallyof at least 60% carbon material created by heating organic matter in theabsence, or reduced supply of oxygen. Equipment exists for the pyrolysisor gasification of biomass and artisanal systems can be devised tocreate biochar. The biomass sources for making biochar include suchorganic materials as animal manure, animal remains or bones, cropresidue, root mass, natural vegetation and bio-solids, which are thensubjected to a pyrolysis or gasification process. While the carbon inbiochar is stable and can endure in soil for thousands of years it canenhance soil fertility, improve soil water use, retain organic andinorganic nutrients and increase soil water retention and resistance ofa growing plant to water stress. Since biochar achieves the above butretains its structure it remains in the soil or horticulture media afteruse.

d. Activating the Base Media with Nutrients

In step 25, FIG. 1, the base is biologically activated by the additionof a biological inoculant or innoculants. One of the preferredinoculants is earth worm castings. Earth worm castings add beneficialfungi, bacteria and other microbes to the base media. The nature of thecastings may also be influenced by the organic and inorganic materialsfed to the worms that produce the castings and through inoculation withmicrobial innoculants. Also, biologically activated horticultural mediacontaining a diverse microbial population may be used as an inoculant tointroduce biological active agents such as fungi, bacteria and otherorganisms. One source of such a horticulture media is media produced bythe invention process described herein. Alternatively a soil orcombination of soil types could be selected for use.

The biological activity of the bacteria, fungi and other microbesproduce heat, carbon dioxide and ammonium (NH₄) among other products asthey grow. Available ammonium may be further converted into nitrates(NO₃) through the process of nitrification. Additionally, various fungiand other so called microbes grow in the media producing organic acidsand metabolites that influence the physical, biological and chemicalcharacteristics of media and also combine with the surfaces of biochar.These organic materials and their interactions contribute to anddetermine nutrient supply.

While this process may appear analogous to composting, it differs in anumber of significant ways. The range and complexity of organicsubstrates being broken down differs. Target thermal parameters forprocess conditions may differ from those used in composting.

Composting focuses on, managing the air/water balance to maintaininghigh temperatures (135°-160° Fahrenheit/50°-70° Celsius) over asufficient time anywhere from 3 days to 15 days, primarily to ensurepathogens, weed seeds and other undesirable items are destroyed orneutralized are killed due to the high temperatures. The hightemperatures indicate a high degree of biological activity.

Control of pathogens and weed seeds is not the primary focus of theactivation process. In the present invention all of the ingredients usedare controlled and do not have pathogens, weed seeds or otherundesirable items. Additionally, the objective of the activation andaging stages is to ensure that an adequate microbial population and thedesired diversity in this population is established and stabilized inthe horticultural media or soil media and to ensure the desired nutrientsupply characteristics and performance.

As noted above the objective then entails creating a stable living soilor horticulture media wherein the nutrients will be broken down and madeavailable over a period of time to vegetation planted in the media.Initially, the microbes, bacteria and fungi start to grow and multiplyon the available carbon in the raw materials. As they begin multiplyrapidly they use nutrients that are available to them. These nutrientsmay be immediately available in mineral form or released from thebreakdown of organic materials. Given the abundance of this biologicalactivity the temperature of the media rapidly rises indicating thetremendous biological activity taking place. The rising temperatureindicates that the available oxygen is being used up.

Once the temperature passes 110° to 120° or so experience shows thatthere is a risk that oxygen supply may be exhausted and the process mayturn anaerobic due to the lack of oxygen. Anaerobic processes canproduce unwanted byproducts and kills the beneficial aerobic bacteria,fungi and microbes which the present invention encourages.

Sufficient supply of oxygen to maintain an aerobic process may beachieved in various ways. Passive supply of a sufficient air flowgenerally can be used when the volume of the aging container issufficiently small volume. The rate of diffusion can be influenced bymanipulation of the total, air and water filled porosity of thematerials. Alternatives to passive aeration involve the injection of airor mechanical turning or mixing of the material.

When the temperatures range goes higher to 140° to 150° the base needsto be actively aerated. Active aeration such as the injection of airinto the media during the aging process is the means used to providesufficient oxygen to the bacteria, fungi and other beneficial microbesin the media.

e. Aging the Media

The next step 27, FIG. 1, is the aging or curing process. As detailedabove of particular importance in the aging process of the presentinvention is that it provide sufficient oxygen to the media as it ages.

The aging process typically lasts for two or three weeks, but may takeas little as 4 days. Additional curing may last for up to severalmonths. During the aging process a key requirement as noted is that itproceeds as an aerobic process.

In the present invention as noted above the aging step must bemaintained as an aerobic process. The intent is to create a livingsustainable culture of aerobic bacteria, fungi and microbes. Bymaintaining the process as an aerobic one after the initial feedingfrenzy the raw nutrients are used up and the temperature drops as thebacteria, fungi and microbes start feeding off of each other. Afterstabilization it reaches a steady state where bacteria, fungi and othermicrobes that are produced feed off of dead bacteria, fungi and othermicrobes as well as the added substrates in a cyclical process.

Once activated the aging or curing process can be conducted in severaldifferent ways to achieve the desired outcome of the present invention.In one variation of the aging process of the present invention the soilmedia is placed in air permeable hoppers or bins which are approximately1 meter square to provide a static aging process 49 FIG. 2. As can beseen in FIG. 2 the bins are fabric bags that are air permeable with anopen top to allow the free flow of air. This generally providessufficient air flow to keep the soil media sufficiently oxygenated tomaintain an aerobic process, when the temperatures remain the 90° to120° range this is the case. If the temperatures increase to the 140° to150° range active processes to inject an air flow can be used. Onemethod is to insert pipes into the soil media during the aging processand blow air into the soil media to assure sufficient oxygen levels tomaintain the process as an aerobic process.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of such a bin where bag 51 is open at itstop 53. Bag 51 is held up and in place by frame 55. Frame 55 is metaltubing with an upper support portion 57 consisting of two metal tubeswelded together along their center portion and struts or legs 59 weldedto the end of the upper portion tubes 57. Bag 51 attaches by straps 61to the upper frame formed by the tubing of upper support section 57. Theaging horticulture media 63 in bag 51 fills it almost to its top. Bag 51is made of a porous woven plastic strand or nylon type material thatallows air to freely pass through the side 65 of bag 51 but retains themedia. A thermometer or temperature probe 67 can be inserted into media63 to monitor temperature.

FIG. 3, a side view of the aging bin of the present invention shows theend of an aeration conduit 69 inserted into media 63. Conduit 69 mighthave apertures 71 in that portion of it buried in media 63 to facilitatethe injection of air into the soil or horticulture media 63. Thus, ifthe temperature of the media during the aging process rises above 110°or so air can be injected into media 63 to assure the bacteria, fungiand microbes have an adequate oxygen supply to keep the process anaerobic one. Air can be injected into conduit 69 with a standard airblower unit or in any other number of standard ways.

In another variation of the aging process the soil media may be mixedwithin a vessel designed for either batch or continuous mixing using anauger or augers to mix the horticultural media to ensure that thematerials are exposed to an adequate amount of oxygen and that moisturecontent is controlled.

FIG. 4 depicts such an auger based system 81. The auger based system 81consists of an aging vessel 83 which has sides 85A and 85B and ends 86Aand 86B, a bottom 87 and an open top 89. Auger 91 attaches to bar 93with motor 95 connects to the top of the auger. Bar 93 at each end 97Aand 97B rests on rails 99A and 99B respectively. Bar 93 can move indirection 101A and 101B between ends 86A and 86B along rails 99A and99B. Additionally, auger 91 can move along bar 93 in direction 103A and103B between ends 97A and 97B of bar 93. Referring to FIG. 5, vessel 83is now filled with soil or horticulture media 105 into which nutrientsand biological inoculants 108 have been added. The system 81 which iscontrolled by an appropriately programmed computer or controller, notshown, moves auger 91 around the entire area of vessel 83 as auger 91churns up media 105. Churning auger 91 moves at a pace such that soil orhorticulture media 105 is adequately aerated to maintain the agingprocess as an aerobic one.

In another variation in rotary composting or processing equipment 107FIG. 7 may be used to ensure that the growth media is exposed toadequate oxygen and that moisture content is controlled. In rotarycomposter 107 is driven by a motor which turns drum 111, which is ahollow cylinder. The growth media to be processed is loaded throughchute 109. The rotary processing equipment includes a temperaturesensor, air is introduced through the opening into the rotating drum111. The rate of rotation of the drum and amount of air vented into thedrum during operation would be a factor of the aeration of the growthmedia and temperature necessary to achieve the purely aerobic processand results discussed above to create the growth media of the presentinvention.

In another variation materials could be processed as windrows 115 FIG. 8and turned by windrow turning equipment 117 or other equipment such as astandard front end loader not shown. As can be seen in FIG. 8 as windrowturner 117 moves down windrow 115, agitates and mixes the growth mediain the portion of the row 115A and redeposits it in reformed the windrow115B after having thoroughly mixed the growth media. The number of timesthis is done and the speed with which this is done is a factor of theaeration and temperature of the growth media necessary to achieve thepurely aerobic process and results discussed above to create the growthmedia of the present invention.

Any number of techniques can be used to measure oxygen levels in theaging media and assuring that sufficient oxygen is supplied to the agingmedia to assure it is an aerobic process. Monitoring temperature withprobe 67 FIG. 2 is one possibility as discussed above. You can alsomeasure the oxygen levels by directly measuring the oxygen contact withan appropriate sensor. You can measure methane concentrations with anappropriate sensor. The production of methane being an indicator thatthe process is going anaerobic. A less sensitive but possible measurewould be ratios of ammoniacal and nitrate forms of nitrogen. Ammonium isa precursor of nitrate. Ammonium can be produced under anaerobicconditions, but nitrate cannot. This last measure can also be used as anindex of the maturity of the aging process.

f. Fine Tuning the Media

As noted, at some point during the process various ingredients areblended into the base or soil media to alter the ratio between thecarbon available to the microbial population and nutrients required forthe growth. Nutrients are added both to ensure adequate microbial growthand to adjust the nutrient supplying characteristic of the final soilmedia.

This step appears at 29 FIG. 1 for convenience of illustration, but itcan be done at any desired point during the process described above. Forexample lime might be added to the soil media to change its pH. Biocharmay also be added as needed or desired. In fact any of the nutrientslisted or discussed above in section I. c. can be added to the soil orhorticulture media to tailor the final soil or horticulture media to theintended use.

In an additional aspect of the invention mites are added to the soilmedia during or after the aging process to remove deleterious matter andkeep the soil media in balance. Oribatid mite is a type of soil mitethat is commonly found in wooded areas where it often assists in thebreakdown of organic matter. The Hypoaspis mite is a small (0.5 mm)light brown mite that lives in the top ½ in layer of soil.

In addition to feeding on organic matter biological control can be usedto control pests that may enter. For example fungus gnats are smallflies known to infest horticultural media. Their larvae primarily feedon fungi and organic matter, but also chew roots and can be a problem ingreenhouses, nurseries, potted plants and interior plantscapes.Biological control measures are effective to control fungus gnatpopulations. For example Nematodes such as Steinernema nematodes andBacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis (Bti) used as a soildrench can all be used as natural predators of fungus gnat pupae.

As another example Trichoderma species such as T. harzianum, T. virideand T. hamatum can be added to the soil. Trichoderma are used to controlfungal root diseases and their presence can be established inhorticultural media.

II. Recharging Used Soil or Horticulture Media:

In another aspect of the invention used soil or horticulture media isrecharged and reformulated for use again. Used soil or horticulturemedia can provide a base for the creation of reusable soil orhorticulture media using a modified version of the present invention.FIG. 6 provides a flow chart of the overall process used in the presentinvention for recharging used soil or horticulture media. The first step31 is to assess the composition of the used soil or horticulture media,in another step 33. In step 33 the soil or horticulture media iscomposted with the objective of obtaining a temperature during thecomposting process of at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit to kill unwantedplant life, weed seeds and pests and pathogens.

After the composting step the method of creating new soil orhorticulture media discussed above and outlined in FIG. 1 is followedwith some modifications. Referring to FIG. 6 additional base media, suchas coconut coir, can be added as needed to achieve desired consistencyand porosity of the media step 35. Additional nutrients can also beadded as needed, step 37. To assure activation of the aging process onecan add an inoculant step 39, such as worm castings or new soil orhorticulture media which has been created with the method outlined inFIG. 1 and discussed above. Referring to FIG. 6 again the aging processstep 41 is conducted as discussed above with the objective of keeping itan aerobic process. In the final step 43 additional nutrients, basemedia or other additives can be blended into the reconstituted soil orhorticulture media to create the final media with desired nutrient, airflow and water supply characteristics. It should be noted that the orderof the steps of the process outlined in FIG. 6. The order of the stepscan be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

a. Assessing the Composition of the Used Media:

The first step 31 is the determination of the composition of the subjectused soil or horticulture media. The process of recharging the used soiland its recharging is also dependent on what the desired use for theused soil is. During this step the physical, biological and chemicalcharacteristics of the used soil or horticultural media can bedetermined. There are many ways to assess the physical, biological andchemical characteristics of soil or horticulture media. Too many toitemize here. The characteristics and measuring techniques discussed inthe following paragraphs are offered only a few of the possible examplesof possible ways to measure the characteristics of the soil orhorticulture media.

Physical characteristics measured can include the bulk density of thesoil or horticulture media (mass per unit volume). This can be measuredusing widely established procedures and compared to defined thresholds.An important physical criterion is total porosity of the horticulturalmedia and the portion that will drain under gravity after the soil issaturated.

Chemical characteristics are also measured by these include the soil pHand the nutrient supplying characteristic of the media. In a nutrientdense horticultural media the challenge is to predict the potential ofthe horticultural or soil media to supply nutrients over time. Thisrepresents a challenge because standard measures such as the widelyadapted saturated media extract procedure provides a point in timemeasurement of nutrients in soil solution. However in a nutrient densesoil a measure of the potential to release nutrients due to themineralization (breakdown) of organic materials is required.

In this invention we compare measured nutrient release from usedhorticultural media against target profiles and amend with nutrientcontaining materials as required. In one variation samples of the mediamay be leached with pure water (prepared by distillation, deionization,reverse osmosis or similar process) or a dilute salt solution such aspotassium chloride (KCl) or potassium sulphate (K₂SO₄) to create abaseline, the material can then be incubated over a period of time (daysto weeks) at a standard temperature and moisture content and thenutrients mineralized can be determined by measuring nutrients releasedin a subsequent leaching. In another variation nutrients released may berecovered using anion or cation exchange resins.

b. Reprocessing of Used Media:

At some point the used soil is composted 33 to sterilize and purge it ofpests, pathogens or disease in the soil. The composting is typicallyraises the temperature to at least 140° F. or more. Any number ofdifferent composting methods can be used. The important aspect of thisstep is that the temperature is equal to or exceeds that needed to killpathogens, weed seeds and other undesirable items in the used soil orhorticulture media. Use of the media to grow plants or for otherpurposes can easily have introduced undesirable items. During thiscomposting step the fact that it turns anaerobic is not of concern.Purging the used growth media of unwanted items such as pathogens, weedseeds and other undesirable items is important. FIGS. 4, 7 and 8 depictthree different methods that can be used to compost the used media tosterilize the used media. The primary difference from that used increating the new media described above is the aeration and temperaturecontrol has a different. For example achieving and maintaining anadequate sterilization temperature to control pathogens is required andair flow may be modified to achieve the desired process conditions withthe rotary system of FIG. 7 or vessel of FIG. 4 may be as few as threedays. On the other hand using the windrow method it can take up to 15days of maintaining the necessary anaerobic process for sterilization.In the preferred embodiment at least a temperature of 140° F. isnecessary.

c. Adding More Base Media:

Once the physical characteristics of the growth media are assessed andit is composted to eliminate unwanted pathogens, weed seeds and otherundesirable items there may be a need to adjust them to meet the new useenvisioned for it or to prepare for the next steps in the rechargingprocess. One of the aspects that may be adjusted is the porosity of thegrowth media. There may be a need to adjust it to meet air and waterporosity requirements. The aspect of porosity and related issues wasdiscussed extensively above at I. b. Preparing the Base Media and isapplicable to this step. It may not be necessary to add base mediamaterial, such as coir at this step if the used growth media meets therequirements at this point.

d. Adding Nutrients:

Once the soil is assessed and a profile of the physical, chemical andbiological characteristics of the soil is determined the option ofadding nutrients is considered. In most instances there will be a needto do this. Although it is conceivable that this might not be necessaryin some rare cases. In any event the step of adding nutrients is exactlythe same as that described at I. c. Adding Nutrients above.

e. Injecting Inoculants:

At this step if necessary an inoculant is added, as discussed above atI. d. such as worm casting or horticulture or soil media prepared by theprocess outlined in FIG. 1. The intent being to initiate the aging orcuring process.

f. Aging:

The aging process conducted in the process of recharging soil is thesame as that discussed at I. e. Aging the Media, above.

g. Blending in Additional Ingredients:

The step of blending in additional ingredients to tailor the rechargedhorticulture media or soil media is essentially the same as thatdiscussed at I. f. Fine Tuning the Media, above. This may happen before,after or during the aging process.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that anymethod set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps beperformed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim doesnot actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is nototherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that thesteps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended thatany particular order be inferred.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Since modifications combinations,sub-combinations and variations of the disclosed embodimentsincorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur topersons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to includeeverything within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

We claim:
 1. A biologically active nutrient dense plant growth mediacomprising: a. a mixable base media having a combined water and airponosity; b. nutrients; c. wherein said base media and said nutrientsare processed by: i. introducing biological inoculants to form an activemedia; ii. aging the active media in an oxygen rich environment suchthat biological aerobic activity is maintained; and iii blending inadditional ingredients so as to create a plant growth media tailoredwith nutrient, pH, carbon, air supply and water supply characteristics.2. The plant growth media claim 1 wherein said base media is coconutcoir of at least one particle size to, thereby create a loose basemedia.
 3. The plant growth media of claim 1 wherein said base media hasa particle size of from less than 0.05 mm to more than 12.5 mm indiameter.
 4. The plant growth media of claim 1 wherein said base mediais made up of one or more materials selected from a group consisting ofcoconut coir, sphagnum moss, pine bark, rice hulls, wood chips, woodmulch, sawdust, molasses, corn stover, wheat straw, barley straw, spentbrewers grains, perilite, vermiculite and, sand.
 5. The plant growthmedia of claim 1 wherein said nutrients and said additional ingredientsincludes one or more of substances selected from a group consisting of:nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, animal and plant derived proteinmeals, mineral trace elements, azomite, greensand, soluble humic andfulvic acids, poultry litter, diatomaceous earth, epsom salt, gypsum,humates, peanut meal, phosphate rock, soft rock phosphate, sodiumnitrate, sulphate of potash, alfalfa meal, peanut meal, cottonseed meal,rye grass, neem meal, corn forage, green manures, clover, buckwheat,vetch, mustard, oil seed rape, kelp meal, feather meal, fishhydrolysate, blood meal, bone meal, bat and seabird guanos, langbenite,calcitic lime, dolomitic lime, ferrous sulfate, aluminum sulphate, urea,ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate and sulphur.
 6. The plant growthmedia of claim 1 wherein the step of aging the active media in an oxygenrich environment uses a passive method of aeration.
 7. The plant growthmedia of claim 11 wherein the step of aging the active media in anoxygen rich environment involves the step of actively aerating when thetemperature of the active media during the aging step is 110 to 180degrees Fahrenheit or more.
 8. The plant growth media of claim 1 whereinthe step of aging in an oxygen rich environment involves the step ofactively aerating the active media.
 9. The plant growth media of claim 1wherein the step of introducing an inoculant is selected from a groupconsisting of: introducing worm castings, introducing plant growth mediapreviously made with this method, and introducing soil.
 10. The plantgrowth media of claim 1 comprising the further step of monitoring theoxygen content of the aging active media and injecting additional oxygenif the level monitored falls below a threshold necessary to maintain anaerobic aging process.
 11. The plant growth media of claim 1 whereinsaid water porosity can vary from 10% to 50% and said air porosity canvary from 10% to 50% and total combined porosity can vary from 10% to90% depending on the combination of air and water porosity.
 12. Theplant growth media of claim 1 including a step of adding biochar as aningredient.
 13. The plant growth media of claim 8 wherein the step ofactively aerating comprises a step selected from the group consistingof: inserting air conduits into the active media and blowing air intothe active media, and turning or mixing of the active media.
 14. Theplant growth media of claim 13 wherein the step of turning or mixing theactive media comprises a step selected from a group consisting of:turning or mixing the active media in a vessel using an auger, turningor mixing the active media in windrows using a commercial windrowmachine, turning or mixing the active media in piles using equipmentsuch as a front end loader, turning the active media using rotaryprocessing equipment, or turning the active media using a rotarycomposter.
 15. A recharged used growth media for plant propagationproduced according to a process comprising the steps of: a. assessingthe composition of used growth media for physical, chemical andbiological characteristics; b. composting the used growth media toobtain a temperature for a period of time sufficient to sterilize thegrowth media; c. adding base media as needed; d. blending nutrients intothe growth media; e. activating the growth media by introducing at leastone biological inoculant; f. aging the activated growth media in anoxygen rich environment to assure a purely aerobic aging process ismaintained; and g. blending into the growth media additional nutrientsand ingredients so as to create a plant growth media tailored withnutrient and water supply characteristics, to create a new rechargedgrowth media.
 16. The recharged growth media of claim 15 wherein saidused growth media is selected from a group consisting of horticulturemedia, potting soil, and soilless media.
 17. The recharged growth mediaof claim 15 comprising an additional step of adding organisms to thegrowth media to remove deleterious matter and deleterious organisms. 18.A method for creating biologically active nutrient dense plant growthmedia comprising the steps of: a. forming a mixable base media having acombined water and air porosity; b. mixing into the base media; c.activating the base media and nutrients by introducing biologicalinoculants to form an active media; d. aging the active media in anoxygen rich environment such that biological aerobic activity ismaintained; and e. blending in additional ingredients so as to create aplant growth media tailored with nutrient, pH, carbon, air supply andwater supply characteristics.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein thestep of forming the mixable base media comprises hydrating coconut coirof at least one particle size to create a loose mixable base.
 20. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the step of forming the base media farthercomprises varying a particle size of the mixable base media from lessthan 0.05 mm to more than 12.5 mm in diameter.